I'm a redeemed child of God and the momma to four vivacious daughters. I'm passionate about finding hidden blessings in the trials of life, living it out in an honest and open way, while encouraging those around me to believe in better.

If y’all like parties, music, photos, and giveaways … this post is for you!!

You see … my friend Reeve has released her very first CD {I have no doubt there’ll be a second, a third, and so-on!} and I hosted a little backyard shindig to celebrate!

Before we get to some giveaway goodness, let me share a plethora of photos from an amazing evening!

I’m in LOVE with the art on this CD cover!!

{photo courtesy of Megan Britt Photography}

When I heard Reeve was available for house concerts, I wanted to host one so badly! I love to entertain, but wasn’t sure how I’d fit everyone inside for a concert. After thinking about it for while, I decided on a backyard concert!

With the help of another friend, Melissa from Relish Design Company, this little shindig turned out exactly how I’d envisioned!!

The trampoline even looks all dressed up and ready to party!! And personally, I think every backyard should look like this 24/7/365!!

Every girl loves a good swag bag! Well … at least I do! I found some fun little bags on my new favorite site, and along with some amazing donations, I started collecting a few fun finds to put in it!

Can I take a moment to tell you about these amazingly, delicious cupcakes?! Salted, caramel, vanilla and Reeses chocolate cupcakes! Worth every calorie-filled bite my friends!

I served hot apple cider, and put my Keurig machine out for decaf coffee. Then I pulled some of my favorite mugs from my cupboard and put them in a vintage drawer {courtesy of Melissa!}.

Do you love that big brown-handled box, bowl thingy with the pumpkins?? I found it at an antique store in Charleston a few weeks ago and knew it’d be perfect! Any thoughts on what it’s called though?

A hay bale repurposed as an ottoman {slash} coffee table.

Delicious candied apples!

Oh you know … if you instagram. And hey! if you do instagram, check out the hashtag #whatloveisallaboutrecord

Set up for an amazing acoustical evening!

Photobooth background!

Having fun with props!

{photo courtesy of Megan Britt Photography}

When the sun went down, Megan captured some amazingly beautiful photographs!! I’m so thankful for these shots!

Reeve’s voice is nothing short of angelic! We had the honor of our own private “Reeve Coobs Unplugged” concert. Complete with stories behind her lyrics and a glimpse into the world of an amazing artist.

My neighbor caught me a couple days later and asked about the musician I had in our backyard. They’d had some friends over that same night and were listening to music on their back porch {I heard it and was actually worried it might interfere with our concert}. He said they heard Reeve start singing and immediately turned their music down, mesmerized by her songs!

Trust me friends … What Love is All About is a CD you’ll want in your library! And probably your friend’s music library too … and hello, gifting season is right around the corner!

So. My friend called me up and said she wanted to have a book release party for me.

“Noooo.” I said slowly. “No. No.” I said shaking my head. That’s just crazy talk as far as I’m concerned!

As she continued talking about it, something inside me said, “Why not?!”

And so we are. Having a party. A book release party. For the book I wrote, 31 Days of Forgiveness {through the eyes of grace}. A book God is already using in mighty ways … ways I can’t begin to fathom.

And I’d like to invite you … you know, if you’re in the area … or feel like coming into the area for a party. :)

I’d like to also give a shout out to my galpal Cat for the amazing invite she designed!! Thanks a gazillion friend!!!

So a few months ago, my girl became a bit obsessed with sock monkeys. Who knew?

And then she asked if she could have a sock monkey themed party … and yeah … I was all over that one! Proof in the photos below!

It’d also been a while since we’ve had an all-out party, and ahem, I still haven’t posted Hunter’s Fairytale Princess party {beware!}, so I decided to get my creative on and throw my Wynt a little shindig!

Ready? Set. Here goes!

In my opinion, every party starts with a great invite and takes off from there …

In lieu of gifts, Wynter asked for the donation of a gently
used stuffed animal to donate to a local animal shelter.

What sock monkey party is complete without monkey pops?

And banana candies?

And sock monkey party hats?

And favor boxes filled with all kinds o’ monkey goodness?

And the cutest fondant sock monkey ever?

And big yellow gumballs {that I may still have coming out of my ears!}?

We had the party in our backyard. So to greet guests, we had a ginormous
sock monkey and a sign directing guests to come around back.

A sock monkey pinata!

And some goofy monkeys running amuck!

One of my favorite details was the sock monkey
“photo booth” … the kids had some fun with it!

And for Wynter’s school treat, we brought in a sock monkey
cup-cake … needless to say, it was a huge hit!

Everyone seemed to have a great time. My Wynt was in heaven. And I had some fun getting my creative on again!

What started as a thought, “let’s move online friendships into real life,” turned into an amazing day of women connecting. In REAL life.

Here’s what (in)courage had to say:

Having prayed for this day for nearly a year, to see the faces of the womenconnecting (in) real life, was like meeting an answered prayer face to face.

This day of Jesus bringing together His daughters in a celebration of community?This was a day and a moment that only God could sign His name to.

I look at this group of women and am at a loss for words. It’s almost as if what we shared for those few hours were sacred, and words wouldn’t do them justice. The time we spent together seems a blur and in some ways I can’t recall the details except to say it was beautiful and sacred and treasured.

We were brave introverts {along with a couple extraverts}, to open our hearts to each other. A sacred afternoon indeed.

I’ll tell you what … I really wanted to host an event at my home, but really struggled with the timing and some things happening in our lives. But after praying about it, I decided to step out in faith and sign up to host.

I. am. so thrilled that I did. One thing I didn’t think about when signing up to “host” … is that I would be the … well … the host! I just thought I would open my home and get to decorate pretty for a party. It absolutely didn’t dawn on me that I’d also have to facilitate our meet-up. I’ll call that blind faith! :)

Anyway … opening my home couldn’t have been a huger blessing to me! Planning, decorating and futzing kept me busy and preoccupied. And it also filled some creative juices I’d been yearning to be filled.

The swag bags I put together included little goodies one might need in making a new friend: altoids, chapstick, tissues, and pretty nails! And I owe a very special thank you to my online, soon-to-be-real-life friend Dawn, for the crocheted sand dollars!

The whole program … Friday and Saturday … was a complete blessing to me. My heart is full.

Psst … if you’re looking for community, encouragement, or just to know you’re not alone in this thing we call sisterhood, I’d like to encourage you to pre-order the 2 DVD disc set and the expanded 80 page study booklet over here.

So … my Piper turned ten on Sunday and I wanted to share a couple of things we used to celebrate!

This was her classroom treat …

And these were her birthday invites!

Both items were inspired from things I saw on Pinteresthere and here {links to original source}. But of course, I enlisted the help of my fav designer {who happens to be on maternity leave, so be sure to check in on her blog for info on when she’s back in the designing game!}.

I love when something I do from Pinterest actually works for me, cuz, um, I’ve had my share of Pinterest-fails!

How ’bout you? Are you “pin-collector?” Do you try the things you pin? Do they work for you? Have you had any major fails?

Overall, I’m woman enough to admit that I’m thoroughly addicted! Have a great weekend y’all!